Kate Berry has covered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for American Banker since 2016. She joined the publication in 2006 covering mortgage lending and the financial crisis. Berry also has covered big banks including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. She has won five awards from the Society of American Business Writers and Editors, and has worked at several news organizations including the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Associated Press. Berry began her career as a clerk at the New York Times.
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With sales weak, Beazer Homes, a top builder, resorts to buying distressed properties in Phoenix and renting them out; B of A exec drops science about short sales; and more.
May 4 -
The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a 90-day halt to all pending foreclosures in the state, to give banks and borrowers more time to pursue loss mitigation.
May 3 -
Loan officers can "educate" real estate agents about the short-sale process, B of A says, but some interpret that pitch as a subtle hint they should send loan business to the bank.
May 3 -
Ally Financial, poised to go public later this year and repay the rest of its bailout funds, reported lower quarterly income in its auto- and home-lending units.
May 3 -
The GSEs will introduce new financial penalties and incentives to encourage mortgage servicers to pursue loan modifications and other alternatives to foreclosure.
April 28 -
Billions of dollars of delinquent FHA-insured loans held on balance sheets are looking more like shadow nonperformers, and banks are unlikely to be fully reimbursed for losses.
April 27 -
One likely result of the consent orders federal regulators recently issued against the largest servicers is that thousands of borrowers will get another shot at a loan modification.
April 23 -
One likely result of the consent orders federal regulators recently issued against the largest servicers is that thousands of borrowers will get another shot at a loan modification.
April 21 -
Fair Isaac says it has found a way to predict strategic defaults; mortgage brokers and loan officers try to game the Fed's compensation rule but the joke's on them; and more.
April 20 -
Regulators never questioned the underlying business model of Merscorp, whose private loan registry has become a lightning rod for foreclosure litigation.
April 15 -
Regulators never questioned the underlying business model of Merscorp, whose private loan registry has become a lightning rod for foreclosure litigation.
April 15 -
In addition to the 14 biggest mortgage servicers, two of the biggest vendors to the industry received cease-and-desist orders from regulators Wednesday. One was stronger than the other.
April 13 -
Fannie Mae is once again offering to pay 3.5% in closing costs for buyers of its repossessed homes, the number of which has nearly doubled in the past year.
April 11 -
The only bank that has been penalized for mortgage servicing lapses got slapped for doing the opposite of what state attorneys general have been demanding.
April 10 -
MBA wants to delay servicing fee revamp; a proactive borrower, rejected for a loan mod, designs a website to help others figure out if they qualify.
April 6 -
Despite a last minute reprieve that delayed the Fed's loan officer compensation rule from taking effect at least until Tuesday, the industry's chances of overturning the rule are slim.
April 1 -
Despite an 11th-hour reprieve that delayed the Fed's loan officer compensation rule from taking effect at least until Tuesday, the chances of overturning the rule are slim.
April 1 -
Freddie Mac finds success with myth-buster videos (produced by Freddie) on YouTube; 2 million borrowers are more than 50% underwater, CoreLogic says.
March 30 -
Little attention has been paid to the added risks for banks and wholesale lenders of buyback requests if loans they fund do not comply with the Fed's new broker pay rules.
March 29 -
North Dakota's housing market deemed best poised for recovery; nearly half of economists foresee a nationwide double-dip this year; and more.
March 23
